Chapter 12 | The Missing Sense

Chapter Subheadings

The Oddly-Shaped
Elephant in the Room •
Blind Moments •
The Toolbox

Summary

The book’s final chapter takes a closer look at how Daredevi’s blindness has been depicted in the comics, and the television show. Why is it that so many fans and Daredevil creators alike seem to suggest that Matt Murdock is not meaningfully blind at all? This chapter asks whether part of the answer may lie in the way comics are written, and makes a case for a more complete understanding of this famous Daredevil trait.

Chapter Excerpt: “Another major issue that comes into play in any piece of fiction is that we are not witnessing real events constrained by real complications. Writers and artists – and their employers – are the literal gods of these universes. They can do whatever they think serves the story, and have it play out any way they choose. In the case of Daredevil, this might mean conveniently providing him with everything he needs to know to execute the required sequence of actions.
If the writers and artists are interested in exploring Matt’s senses or blindness – and at least a few certainly have been! – they are free to do so. But they can also choose not to, and make only the most minimal of efforts to stay within reasonable boundaries. All they have to do is set up the story in such a way as to minimize any potential trouble for the main character, while also not including any scenes that directly address his blindness.”

Panels

From Daredevil #1 (1964), by Stan Lee and Bill Everett

Matt, to Bullseye (off-panel): “I was in my secret identity — as Matt Murdock, first class attorney — when I met Chuckie. The secret identity can be a relief, Bullseye. When I’m Murdock, I don’t have to use my amplified senses to pretend I’m not blind.

Anyway, it took my partner an hour and a half to convince me to represent Hank Jurgens. I’d argued that it was a job for a first year public defender. Foggy’s told me it would be good therapy.”

Street view from behind of Matt visiting the residence of his client Hank Jurgens. Matt is standing on the stoop as Jurgens opens the door.

From Daredevil #146 (1964), by Jim Shooter and Gil Kane

Caption: Later that day at the storefront law office of Nelson and Murdock…

Matt: “Foggy? Heather?”

Foggy: “Matt! Wha– What happened to you?”

Matt: “How should I know? I couldn’t see what hit m– oww! Why didn’t you tell me this darn chair was in my way?”

Foggy: “But it’s always been there — and you have the office memorized.”

Matt thinks: “No, I don’t— because I’ve never had to count steps and memorize like a normal blind man! I’ve always had my radar sense to guide me — till now.”

Matt: I-I’m a little confused guys! I took a pretty bad rap on the skull!”

Foggy: “Is there anything we can do? Uh– why don’t you sit down — and I’ll get you a glass of water. Or maybe I should call a doctor?”

Matt: “No! Look, uh, it’s no big deal. I’ll be all right!”

Heather: “Oh, Matt! If you’re hurt, it is a big deal… to me! Please don’t draw away from me when you need help! I love you! I want to be the one you turn to.”

Matt thinks: “She means it… but my radar sense could be gone for good. And my other super-senses don’t begin to make up for my blindness by themselves. I can’t… I won’t let Heather waste her life pitying me!”

Matt: “I… think I’ll just go home!”

Heather: “Oh, no! Don’t go out alone please!”

Matt, sporting a bandage around his head from an earlier head injury, stumbles into the office, and trips over something. Foggy and Heather are confused about what's going on.

From Daredevil #245 (1964), by Ann Nocenti and Chuck Patton

Caption: “Today, New York woke up in a foul mood. Everyone can feel it, smell it, taste it. Nasty words are exchanged, doors slammed in strangers’ faces, a man loses his hat to the wind and no one bothers to help him retrieve it. It’s as if everyone caught the same fever, a rotten mood that’s infected the whole urban bloodstream. No one senses the mood more than the man who immerses himself in the thick of it, day in and day out, the relentless guardian of Hell’s Kitchen — Daredevil!

A childhood accident stole his sight, but at the same time blessed him with a radar-vision that’s more accurate than eyes. It also gave him heightened, razor-sharp senses. His ears are used to ignoring car horns, the chatter of street folk, the clank of machines. It’s all unimportant white noise, like the hum of a refrigerator.”

View of Daredevil from below as he stands on a roof top. This panel is followed by three that focus on various parts of his face as the reader is told about Daredevil's abilities.

From Daredevil #250 (1964), by Ann Nocenti and John Romita Jr.

Matt thinks to himself: “I’m a lawyer without a license, so I have to practice law surreptitiously, like it’s a magician’s act. I’m blind, but my radar makes me sighted — so I have to pretend to be blind! I have to pretend to be clumsy and vulnerable, so no one connects Matt Murdock with Daredevil. And Daredevil — that’s another life I have to ‘practice without a license- and wear a mask to hide myself — more props!”

Sitting at home, Matt is feeling resentful.

From Daredevil #119 (1964), by Tony Isabella and Bob Brown

Man on the street: “Wow — wait’ll I tell Blanche that I talked to Daredevil himself! Give ’em one for me, DD!“

Matt thinks: “Oh, brother! A few more cheerleaders like that walking soap box could give a guy second thoughts about the hero bit. Hey, slow down, fella. No matter how often you’ve been here in the past, you’re supposed to be a blind man. Don’t walk quite so confidently.

‘Supposed to be?’ My other senses compensate for my lack of sight so much that I almost forget I really am blind. Almost. My own private ‘radar’ tells me the Nelson clan has preceded me, so…”

Matt to Foggy and Candace: “I hear the righteous laughter of a good-natured fellow and the sexy voice of a damsel fair. It can only be Donny and Marie Osmond!“

Foggy: “Hiya, Matt!”

Matt: “What’s going on in here? I don’t seem to recall you two being all that thrilled with each other.”

Changing into his civilian clothes, Matt approaches the office, mindful of not moving to carelessly. He reaches the door, his radar drawn as if it's a spotlight emanating from his face and directed at the door. In the final panel, he is with Foggy's family.

Note: It is interesting that Matt says he almost forgets he’s blind in this particular issue as this scene takes place mere pages after the scene below where Matt takes his time offering his subway seat to an old lady.

From Daredevil #8 (1998), by Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada

Matt thinks: “But how can I possibly do Karen justice with a few pages of scribblings conceived through a veil of tears? What can I say to these people that could even remotely communicate all that Karen was and how much she meant to me?”

Clergyman: “I’ve asked Matthew Murdock, Karen’s longtime boyfriend, to say a few words about the woman we all held such a special place in our hearts for. Mister Murdock?”

Matt thinks: “It’s vulgar… playing the rolw of the helpless blind man at the funeral of one of the only people who knew the whole truth about me. I feel like a liar.”

Matt: “Hello. This may take a while. Ahem… Um… Karen was…”

First sitting in the pews at Karen's funeral, Matt passes by her casket when he is called to the pulpit. The final two panels show him standing there, his fingers touching a braille document.

From Daredevil #352 (1998), by Ben Raab and Shawn McManus

Caption: “Despite a pair of essentially useless eyes… a childhood accident allows Daredevil’s other hyper-senses to more than compensate for his lack of sight.”

Daredevil thinks: “Twenty blocks down and three avenues over — all in ten minutes flat…? Was a time when I could navigate this route — from Karen’s place to the office’s back alley–“

A panel shows Daredevil carelessly hanging from the side of a tall building.

From Daredevil #208 (1964), by Harlan Ellison,
Arthur Byron Cover, and David Mazzucchelli

Matt thinks: “Nice, comfortable. Smells old and wealthy. Circa 1900. Windows barred.”

Matt, to whomever might listen: “If I speak quietly, will you come out? It’s time we faced each other.”

Matt thinks: “That oil portrait of the old woman… Wha…?”

Video recording: “If you are seeing this message, you are the man they call Daredevil. And if you hear my words, then somehow, miraculously, you have escaped the purpose for which this house was intended.

My name is Elizabeth Dawes Sterling. But for my son, Philip Wallace Sterling, I am the last of our line. If you are hearing these words and seeing my image, it will mean I am dead. As dead as the son I hoped would carry on our name. But he is dead… killed by you.”

We first see Daredevil entering a large room. There is a portrait of a woman hanging over the fireplace. Suddenly, the portrait slides upward, uncovering a television screen behind it that starts playing a recording of the old woman in her bed.

“From Daredevil #248 (1964),
by Ann Nocenti, and Rick Leonardi

Matt: “Okay, what’s my big surprise?”

Karen: “That beautiful building is what! I rented it.”

Matt: “What for?”

Karen: “Can’t you see…? Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. This is my eternal problem with you! Your radar makes you so ‘sighted’ it’s impossible for me to remember you’re blind ‘cept when I want you to read something! Come on in. I’ve gotten one grant already. That’s how I paid for all the phones and stuff.”

Matt: “Karen, I don’t get it…”

Karen: “And I’ve rented the space for a few punk parties, so we’ll have some capital!”

Matt: “Karen…”

Karen: I’m so excited! This is our first call! Hello? Yes, it is! What’s the problem?”

Matt thinks: “I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but…”

Karen takes Matt to show him the new offices she rented. The first panel shows them outside, the second sees them entering the building, and the third is of Matt taking the place in, with Karen in the background.

From Daredevil #356 (1964), by Karl Kesel and Cary Nord

Daredevil thinks: “Misty moves with the confidence of a professional who knows exactly what she’s searching for. I stand there like a broken Disney animatronic and hope she doesn’t notice. Being blind, I’m not very good at looking for things… with my eyes. I like to think my remaining heightened senses make up for that.”

Misty Knight: “I tell you, DD — you and Pyro did a real piece of work on this place…”

Daredevil thinks: “I start sifting through a thousand sensations, tuning them out one by one. It’s just that we’re looking for something that shouldn’t be here. The constant murmur of the river and city… The bitter tang of charred wood… Misty’s voice…”

Misty: “Torched it just enough to make tossin it a real challenge.”

Daredevil thinks: ” Nothing personal. Anything that belongs… Anything I can account for is only a distraction. A bad memory. Hyde’s oppressive lingering scent. A plank stained with a young girl’s blood. Sweat and death and… and…”

Daredevil is with Misty Knight, looking for clues at the site of an earlier fire. The first panels have Matt waiting passively while Misty checks the place out. We then get a close-up of Daredevil followed by a cluttered radar perspective.

From Daredevil #101 (1964), by Steve Gerber and Rich Buckler

Daredevil: “…and, naturally none of the innocent bystanders remembers what happened.”

Police office #1: “Nobody recalls anything… except running to escape… from something.”

Daredevil: “Then, lieutenant, we’ve got a first class menace on our hands.”  

Police officer #2: “Can you give us a description, DD?”

Police officer #1: “Hair color? Eyes? Distinguishing marks?”

Police officer #2: “We’ll put out an A.P.B. on him right away.”

Daredevil: “I’m, uh, still a little too shaken, I think… Let me get some rest, okay…? Collect my wits. I’ll be in touch.”

Police officer #1: “Sure, fella — anything you say, take it easy awhile.”

Police officer #2: “Glad we could be of help, y’know?”

Daredevil: “I know. And thanks. Both of you.”

Daredevil thinks to himself: “They’ve been more help than they think! I realize now — why only I can remember Angar’s little head-games. It’s because I’m blind!”

Having just experienced a hallucination, courtesy of Angar the Screamer, Daredevil tries to explain the situation to the police, which are shown to the reader as outlines of people, to illustrate Matt's perspective. Flustered, Daredevil leaves the scene and takes to the sky.

From Daredevil #144 (1964), by Jim Shooter and Lee Elias

Technician: It’s a magnetic key, used to identify its bearer to a computerized security system in a modern building!

Daredevil: “I suspected that! Can you determine what building this key is for?”

Technician: “Certainly! That data is coded into the key with magnetic particles which our computer can decipher — and there’s the address as you can plainly see!”

Daredevil: “Uh — yes. Are you sure there is such an address?”

Technician: “Thirteen Wall St.? Of course!”

Daredevil: “Thanks!”

Daredevil thinks: “Wonder what that technician would think if he knew Daredevil was blind and couldn’t ‘plainly see’ anything!? And, that same blind guy was off to raid a nest of super-villains–“

Daredevil has taken a plastic card he found to a technician to help him make sense of it. The information that is on the card appears in the window of a box on the table. Daredevil can't read it and has to be clever about it.

From Daredevil #119 (1964), by Tony Isabella and Bob Brown

Daredevil thinks: “Uh-oh, DD you’re getting definite vibes of hostility from these good folks. I wonder why?

My radar sense is picking up someone standing in front of me… Height: Five feet. Weight: Maybe 90 pounds. Wait a second! Judging from the body temperature and pulse rate… plus the scent of an overly sweet cologne… Hoo boy, Matthew. Before you stands… the proverbial little old lady!”

Daredevil, to the old lady: “Excuse me, ma’am. Would you like a seat?”

Old lady: “Why, thank you, young… err, man.”

Daredevil thinks: “Whew. I wonder if Thor ever came that close to blowing his whole superhero image that way.”

Daredevil is riding the subway – in costume! – when he belatedly notices an old woman, shown to the reader in radar-sensed outline, and finally gets up to offer her his seat.

From Daredevil #340 (1964),
by D.G. Chichester and Alexander Jubran

Matt: “Your nest is safe and sound, Stithy! The city’s taking it off the wrecking ball list!”

Stithy: “Hmm? Oh–good deal, Batlin! Appreciate your help! Too bad things can’t work out so well for everybody! Look what happened to that poor lady! She was an artist, too — worked with the lens for the paper!”

Matt: What — what lady?

Stithy: There on the tube! What’re you, blind?” 

Matt: “Uh, musta missed it! Might help if you got the sound fixed!”

Stithy: “Why? You’re probably deaf, too!”

Matt: “What — what was her name?”

Stithy: “What am I? Double jeopardy? Lorry something — no, no. Glory–Glorianna! That’s it! Glorianna O’Breen!“

Matt: “Glorianna…?”

 Stithy: “What are you lookin’ so tore up about? The way you don’t look at things, you ain’t even gonna miss her pictures!”

Matt, living under the Jack Batlin identity, learns from his acquaintance that a woman has died. It's shown on a TV stuck on mute.
On the following page, we are shown Matt's perspective of a blank screen. He learns the identity of the woman and breaks down when it turns out to be his former girlfriend Glorianna O'Breen.

From Daredevil #22 (2011), by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee

Matt, to the reader: “Being blind, here are my answers to people’s questions about how I handle money. Yes, it’s a pain that American paper currency is of a uniform size regardless of denomination. Used to be, because of my enhanced supersenses, I could easily ‘read’ a bill by touch. But each advance in printing and anti-counterfeiting technology makes that more difficult.

There are smart-phone apps that can identify bills through photography. Slow, but helpful. To make better time, I still rely on the old folding method. Ones flat… fins folded crosswise… sawbucks lengthwise… twenties quartered. You have to trust cashiers not to shortchange you…”

Store clerk: “…and ten makes a hundred.”

Matt to the reader again: “…especially on purpose.”

To the clerk: “Are you sure?”

Clerk: “You callin’ me a crook?”

Matt: “No. No. No.”

Clerk: “Hey!”

Matt: “We’re even.”

To the reader: “But my most helpful tip: surrender to the 21st century and use a debit card as much as possible. It’s always good to have a little cash in your pocket, but the debit card is the blind man’s best friend.”

Automated ATM voice: “This ATM provides spoken instructions for your convenience. […] You have exceeded your account balance. Please try again.”

Matt again: “Except when it isn’t.”

Matt explains how he handles money. We are shown close-ups of his hands handling different denominations of bills, as well as a phone app. He takes out his vengeance on a store proprietor who short changes him, by tipping over a jar.
Matt tries to withdraw money from an ATM. We see him put on headphones, though there's sadly no money in his account.

From Daredevil #314 (1964), by  D.G. Chichester and Scott McDaniel

Matt: “…it’d be easiet if we took the shuttle over to Grand Central, and the 6 from there!”

Ben Urich: “What’s that? A braille subway map? Pretty neat!”

Matt: “Beats crumpling paper in public, that’s for sure!”

Ben Urich: “Did this quick wit come with the law degree, or did you have to pay extra?”

Ben Urich catches a glanse of Matt's tactile subway map.

From Daredevil #1 (1998), by Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada

Matt: “I need something to take my mind off her. Or someone. Natasha… How honest a boyfriend was I, after all? I kept an old flame’s number on my speed dial. I tell myself it’s her SHIELD satellite link up code… the one she have me in case of terrorist threats beyond my capabilities. I’m a good liar. Comes with the job. What’s the big deal I want to talk to her about a case… or a Hydra rumour… or a… All right — so I’m not such a good liar.”

Matt is on the phone, the tactile braille indicators visible in the background.

Further reading

At The Other Murdock Papers